Chapter XX: Wounded

Flurry's tentacles start to undress me while carrying me towards the bed, clothes falling off my body and tossed to the floor. Scurry, Callie, and Marie rush by on my right and take their seats at the table, giggling to themselves and watching us with interest and grins of anticipation. "Can you at least put me down please?" I say with irritation to Flurry who flicks her tentacles in response, sending me flying through the air momentarily before I land face first on the mattress. I flip myself over quickly when I land and glance at the squids at the table in desperation only to find them pointing back at Flurry.

My head snaps the other direction but too slowly as she rears over me, pinning me to the bed with her limbs as some of her tentacles start to unbutton her fatigues and take off her beret. "You can feel it too, can't you...I can smell it...the urges, the needs..." she whispers as she puts her head on my shoulder and sniffs gently. "You can't hide it from me...you want to give in as much as I do...so why hold back?" she whispers seductively, my eyes closing as I exhale from the growing feeling of need. She knows...she understands...but- "I don't think I'm ready for this..."

Her limbs loosen their grip slightly as she pulls back and looks at me in confusion, some of her cheer now lost at my words. "You...aren't ready for this?...what do you mean?" she asks as I open my eyes and avert my gaze to the left in reluctance. "My body is ready but...my heart isn't into this...I barely know you and...I didn't get a choice..." She's right about the urges and I can feel them but...I can't share ink just because of that... I gulp lightly before saying more. "And...if we're having octolings...I don't think I can-"

Flurry is already moving off me to sit at the edge of the bed, her tentacles redressing herself as she lifts me to sit next to her. "Perhaps I was...a bit too forceful-"

"You stripped me without my consent and tried to tempt me into unleashing urges that I'm not comfortable with...yeah, a bit too forceful..." I whisper glumly and turn my head to look at her as she dips her head down slightly. "Let's...at least talk about this..." I whisper but start to feel regret when I see her sad. I'm not saying no to her but...let's talk first... Despite my thoughts, we sit there in silence for a few seconds and every time I look at her, her face is staring straight ahead. I look at the others and am not surprised to see hostile expressions of disapproval. Suddenly, I get up off the bed and turn to walk back towards the door with an awkward smile on my face, four sets of eyes following me as I leave. "Can you excuse me for a second? I'll be in the hallway but I need to call someone."

"Who are you-" Flurry tries to ask but I'm already through the door and closing it, reaching down for my squidphone but groaning when I realize I left my squidphone in the room. Along with my clothes... When I open the door, my pants are held in one of Flurry's tentacles as she offers it to me with an amused grin, my head nodding in thanks as I grab the squidphone out of the right pocket. I wait until she closes the door before quickly moving my to the far wall and placing my back to it while browsing my squidphone contacts list for Sheldon's number. It rings twice in my ear before I hear him respond, "Kosh? You need something?"

"I need some quick advice," I blurt and apologize a second later for the slight panic in my voice. "OK, first of all, did you already know Drosyn and Flurry are sisters?" There's a brief pause on the line before he says yes and a groan escapes me at the irony. He knows too!? Was I really the only one who didn't know!? "Second and I know this is a bit...personal...but how did your sharing ink go with Drosyn?"

He doesn't answer initially because he laughs briefly a moment later, the laughter embarrassing me further. "Hold that thought. I think there's someone here who's more qualified to talk about this," he states as I raise my brow in confusion before Drosyn's voice replaces Sheldon. "So you need advice?"

"I do. I know it's a bit much to ask but why do octolings share ink?" I blurt without thinking, Drosyn laughing loudly and immediately through the line for a second. My embarrassment grows further and I start doubting this idea until she answers. "Why does any squid share ink nowadays? To forge a bond and consummate a relationship. Is there...a problem with Flurry?" she asks with a hint of threat that's plainly apparent. I force myself not to sigh at her bold challenge. Is this an octoling thing? I need to do some research after all of this... "No...it's just...this is very sudden and...I'm not used to skipping the knowing each other phase and going straight to sharing ink...is that normal to octolings?"

Her answer is in an even tone that's immediate and uncomfortable for me to hear. "In our society, the females are the dominant ones in a relationship and the males are the submissive ones. It's normal for octolings and my advice is to accept her advances while maintaining your own boundaries. You can spend plenty of time later to get to know each other." There's a brief pause on the line as I absorb her advice but Drosyn asks another question soon after. "Do you care about her?"

"I barely know her...we just met a few days ago...and she splatted me...the most bonding we've done is the Splatfest turf war event but-" I try to say more but Drosyn cuts me off with a giggle that puts me on edge. "So what do you require from her to make this possible?" she interrupts, my head shaking in amusement at her direct approach. It takes me a few seconds to phrase an answer. "I don't really know anymore...so much keeps happening without consent that I don't know what I need-"

"Talk to her and ask her what she needs. That's a good place to start," Drosyn states gently, my head nodding as I understand her advice. That makes sense...maybe it's better if I satisfy their needs first... "Alright...I'll give that a shot...and thanks..." I say with gratitude but she giggles through the line again. "Look over your left shoulder," she commands and my head turns gently to see Flurry standing to my left across the hallway with a knowing smile on her face, a sigh escaping me as I turn my head back to the phone conversation. "Thanks, Drosyn..." I say glumly before hanging up the phone and placing it in the pocket of my pants that Flurry's holding up in front of me. "She called me on her phone and let me listen in...sorry..." she states playfully while offering me the pants that I wave away with a smile. I'm not gonna like this but...

"So...what do you want to do?"

My arms wrap around Flurry's neck as our tongues touch, her body rubbing against mine as she pushes me into bed with her tentacles. I have to move my tongue cautiously to avoid scraping her sharpened teeth as her tongue does the same to avoid my fangs. Slowly and gently and everyone stays happy... One of my hands leaves her neck to touch her chest, the hand sinking into her breast as she pulls away with a smile. "No one has had the courage to touch me like that besides you...how should I punish you for it?" she whispers while kissing my face and my hand moves to her chest in spite, a smile on my face as she gasps from me rubbing.

My hands move back to her back and hair tentacles when she surges forward, her tongue going back into my mouth and mine responding in kind. The move is done too quickly and I accidentally scrape my tongue against her teeth, cyan ink now leaking from the wound as I grunt in slight pain. Despite the pain, I keep her head in place and tongue the inside of her mouth as she does the same. She doesn't let up easily and it takes her a while to stop kissing me before I can speak. "Whatever you're comfortable with...so long as it doesn't splat me..." I whisper jokingly in answer to her previous question, Flurry's broad smile showing her teeth as she leans forward to lick my face aggressively. "It was a trick question...I already said I'm not going to hurt you..." she whispers and quickly moves back to kissing, my arms wrapping around her neck again as she continues to show me affection. "Let me show you...how much I can love you..." she whispers as the starts to rub her body against mine, the movement now making a little more sense. Octarians are a tactile species and express things physically...if that's the case...

My body pushes her onto her back, Flurry's body tensing at the sudden move before I crawl to her lower half with a smile. "Let me show you first how much I can love..." I whisper as I move my head to her crotch, my hands opening her legs gently as I lick her. She gives a slight moan as my tongue makes contact. This escalated quickly... Her legs lock around my head to keep me in place as her hands lay on my head, my body twinging slightly in surprise before I calm down and continue licking. She's breathing evenly as I continue and her hands keep rubbing my hair tentacles even as I lick her crotch and thighs. Her limit is reached quickly as she locks her legs and gasp, purple ink spraying onto my face suddenly. She's very sensitive...that's surprising...

Her legs relax as she sighs happily, her hands moving my head away from her crotch as she lies back with a content expression. I shake my head to get the ink off my face as I move to lay on her, her hair tentacles already wrapping around my body as I align myself. I can't help but smile at her hopeful expression, at odds with her stature and bearing. "Alright, alright...enough playing around..." I whisper as my hands grab her sides and I thrust myself forward, both of us exhaling gently as our bodies connect. One of my hands leaves her side and grabs the blanket under us, my other hand moving her body around as she looks at me curiously. "It's a comfort thing..." I whisper as I put the sheets over us, her face smiling again as I press my body against hers and start to move.

"Is this...how inklings...ah...share ink?" she whispers between gasps as her tentacles and arms pull me closer, my shoulders shrugging in response to her question as our bodies start to sweat from the heat. "Beats me...I've no idea what a normal inkling does..." I whisper, my head shaking to free my hair tentacles from hers and use them to embrace her as she's embracing me. My face cringes slightly when I see that my arms have changed into tentacles as well but Flurry smiles at me when she notices. "Don't be ashamed of it...it's part of you and there isn't a way to fix it...just embrace it..." she whispers while her hair tentacles move my head towards her for more kisses, my mind slowly losing itself to the urges bubbling below my psyche. I could just give in, just let her have her way...

I break the kiss a few seconds later and laugh quietly, pushing the urges back as I shake my head once. "Easy for you to say...you have control over your Kraken gene...I just learned I have it..." I whisper as I lean my face closer to hers and lick her cheek, Flurry smiling and giggling at the sudden move. "Teach me how to control it first...then I'll embrace it..." I whisper back to her but the mood shatters when I look at her. Purple ink is on her face from where I licked and her face starts to change to confusion as she sees me panic. Purple ink!? What the-

I move to sit on the bed to Flurry's disappointment and lick one of my hands, moving it in front of my face to see the purple ink again. I move my hair tentacles to look at them and am shocked not only to see them stained purple but also to have eight instead of two. "Is this...normal!?" I blurt in shock, bringing the rest of my tentacles forward to check but seeing them all have a deep shade of purple, the sight of them unsettling me visibly. What's happening to me!? Flurry hair tentacles pull me towards her gently and place me on top of her as one of the tentacles starts to gently rub my head. I look up to see her face now sad. "Just relax...because your emotions are about to-"

I don't hear the rest as waves of raw emotions start to flood my system, my eyes shutting involuntarily as they barrage my psyche. My thought start to go haywire from the feedback. What am I Who am I Whats happening You are a sham I am an abomination What have I done Who can you claim to be now I hate everything around me Why am I like this- My limbs lose control and I feel myself falling but my fall is stopped by gentle hands and hair tentacles that hold me in an embrace. Tears start to flow down my face uncontrollably as my body starts to shake from the mental assault but a calm voice cuts through my rampant thoughts temporarily. "You'll be OK...you can survive this...the rest of us have to...you can too..." the voice says but the thoughts keep coming unabated. You shared ink with your own sibling You let your brother die You killed innocents You're a monster You're arrogant and deserve nothing-

My breathing starts to hasten as I try to get myself together only to be replaced with a loud roar of pain as something pokes painfully against my back. My body is turned over as I feel skin tear, something ripping from my back as ink sprays onto the bed from the wound. My roar stops as soon as it begins, a low moan of pain escaping me as my body goes limp again from the trauma. It hurts...it hurts so much... "What's-" I start to say before stopping when I hear my own voice, a low rumble that confuses me further. My voice is different...is that my voice? "What just happened?" I ask through the pain, my breathing finally slowing down as the pain slowly subsides. A hand brushes my back but brushes something else, something on my back squirming under the touch. "Now you understand what octoling's feel...why we have to express everything and hide nothing...it can build up into a destructive mental breakdown like you just experienced...you saw what it did to my sister..." My mind recalls the day clearly, a calm assault with little emotions done by surprise. She went insane...we nearly killed her...and I did that to both of them-

Sobs start to come from me as the realization hits deeply, Flurry holding me close to her as my thoughts unravel. We did that to them...to both of them...to the octarians...the Squidbeak Splatoon didn't prevent anything...it just caused more suffering...how can I ever forgive myself? Flurry is still brushing my head as she responds to my thoughts. "We can't change what happened, Kosh...but we can change the future...Dros believes you can find a better future for the octarians...and I trust her...I'm starting to believe it too...but what do you believe?"

I'm unable to tell her. My growing sobs drown out any answer I may have given.

"Everything was so clear before...so simple...but now...I don't know what to believe..." I say glumly to myself while putting on my ink tank and securing my gear to my body. It takes some effort to prevent my hands and legs from turning into tentacles and preventing my new back tentacles from throwing the oppressive weight of the tank off my back. A hand yanks one of my hair tentacles uncomfortably to the right, pulling my head and causing me to grunt in pain. "Get over it, love. You now have tentacles on your back...big deal," Scurry says dismissively with a chuckle as she lets go and I right myself, growling slightly before correcting myself. These new emotions are gonna take some getting used to also-

I groan in frustration at Scurry's dismissal of the situation and my erratic reactions. "Say that when you have tentacles on your back and not on your head...zapfish, these things itch..." I state as one of my hair tentacles move to scratch my back under my Hero Jacket Replica, a happy sigh escaping me at the minor relief. Someone else playfully tugs my hair in the other direction, causing me to groan as I'm pulled to the left. "Quit it! My hair tentacles are sensitive!" I growl as Callie chuckles from my left, letting go of my hair tentacle and moving in front of me with a wide smile. "But you're just so...different now! It's one thing to be sharing ink with a fellow inkling but now you're an octarian-"

"Not quite," Flurry interjects from behind me, my spine jolting slightly as her hair tentacles move under my shirt and brush my back playfully. I still have to get used to that too... "He's part octarian but...he's still an inkling...I think..." she states from behind me as my hands try to dislodge the hair tentacles under my shirt, only succeeding in making her pick me up under my arms and turn me around to see her smiling face. A low growl escapes my throat and is mirrored by her as I feel my teeth starting to sharpen, her teeth mirroring the gesture before I exhale to calm myself and drive down the growing anger. It's a Kraken thing...testing the limits of tolerance... "So...did you...receive...anything from me?" I say calmly while forcing my teeth back to the normal beak pattern, my mouth sore from the change but not as painful as before.

"You mean besides your ink in my body? I'm not sure yet. I don't feel any different," Flurry states while starting to tilt me sideways playfully, a deep growl from me causing her to reverse the move but her face still amused as I do so. I used to be a tenor and now I'm a baritone...it makes me sound a lot like...like... The connection finally comes to me and I look at Flurry in shock as Flurry smiles at me and she brings me closer. Flurry's smile widens as she puts my head on her shoulder and whispers in my ear. "So you figured it out finally? I was wondering when you'd make the connection..." she states darkly as she holds me gently in her arms and hair tentacles, my breathing low as she continues. "I don't hold it against you...Dros even helped you do it...don't feel bad..." They're Octavio's grandchildren! That's how Drosyn knew how to fight the war machine! We murdered their grandfather!

The realization is too much for me and all I can manage is a sad sigh. "I'm sorry..." I whisper sadly, my arms moving around her as her embrace tightens around my body. "I know..." she whispers back in equal sadness, my hair tentacles also moving to embrace her as she starts to sob. The others hear the noise and join in, their gear pressing against us as we hold each other in a sad embrace.

We all lost that battle...no one gained anything from it...

END OF SCENE II